Chapter Nine

Alexandra

On Sunday morning, I was woken up by the brightness of the day. I turned and found the deep blues laying on my bed. I tilted my head, which was on my pillow, and looked at him.

"What could you possibly want this early in the morning?"

"Everything." I glare at him. "No, your sister is at my place and I needed a quiet place to think right now. I enlisted their help in finding some stuff for me and then went at it." I nod and burrow myself back under my covers to fall asleep again, hoping Damon gets the hint and leaves.

He doesn't.

"Damon, leave."

"Fine, I'll go through the front door then." My eyes pop open and I shake my head.

"Okay, you can stay." He smiles and gets comfy again. "But you have to disappear if Jenna or Jeremy come in, got it?" He nods and salutes me. I nod and lay down again.

"You know, you should get up and go to the boarding house and get your sister. She listens to you," Damon says, just as I'm about to fall asleep.

"I'm alright. I'd rather just sleep. I'm exhausted. I was up late last night."

"Why?"

"I'm not going to get anymore sleep today, am I?"

"Not while I'm around." Awesome.

"Alright." I sit up and lean against my pillows so I can talk to him. "What would you like to talk about Damon?" I ask, heavy on the sarcasm.

"No need to get snarky."

"Alight. There's an ulterior motive for being here. Out with it."

"You need to help Elena get the Gilbert journal that the vampire a couple of days ago at the dance was talking about."

"So you woke me up for nothing. You could have told me at a later time. Or Elena could have told me later when she got home." I pause when I see his face. "You just wanted to see me, didn't you? Didn't you listen to a single word I said in our conversation a couple nights ago?"

"I did. And I can't not spend time with you."

"Why not? You did it yesterday with ease." He doesn't answer. Just gets up, walks around my bed and to my side. I sit up and he cups my face with both of his hands. His eyes search my face. He looks at my eyes, my expression which is one of shock, and stops at my lips. The rest happens quickly, his lips take mine. I'm surprised but I don't stop myself from kissing him back. Although it's just a soft kiss, mine still pushed lightly against his so he knew I was agreeing with this.

I forget every bad thing he's done and why he doesn't want me and why he wants Charlotte back. It's just us in our own little bubble of happy and content. And suddenly, he's gone. The curtains on my window are flowing as if a small breeze brushed past them. I smile when I think about what just happened.

"He gave it to our history teacher? Did those drugs screw his head up even more than normal?" I ask when Elena tells me. She shakes her head.

"Maybe. But we need to start family dinner."

"Let's make spaghetti. I'll start it now." They nod and walk out of the kitchen.

It's later in the day already when Damon shows up. He waltzes through the door and I think it's Elena till I hear his voice.

"You're doing it all wrong." He walks up to me and bumps my hip with his. I move and he chops every ingrediant on the counter with speed. He gets three new tomato paste bottles out and pours it in the pot with the mushrooms and onions and minced garlic. He puts the spices in and puts the lid onto the pan. He turns to me and leans against the stove.

"So," I say.

"About this morning, I'm sorry for kissing you. I know you didn't really want to do that since we are trying to get Charlotte out of the tomb."

"Thank you for apologizing. While I haven't been kissed like that in a long time and I would do it again, I don't want to piss anyone off."

"I honestly would not care if it were anyone else other than you. I'm not going to kiss you again. You'd get hurt if Elena or Stefan found out. Elena would hurt your feelings and Stefan would try to stab me again and you knowing that would hurt you too because you do care. You care too much if you care about a vampire who can, will, and has fended for himself."

"I care about you because I can, not because I'm obligated because you're my sister's boyfriend's brother."

An hour later, the sauce was done, the noodles were done, and the garlic bread is baking. We are prepareing the table for dinner and Damon and I keep walking past each other. He deliberately bumped me when he was walking past.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" Damon asks, feigning stupid.

"You know what. That move was deliberate."

"Well yeah. I was deliberately trying to get to the, sink." He grins like a chershire cat. "Speaking of Stefan, where is he? He is missing family night which I am enjoying immensely." He pauses and leans against the counter when I turn around. "Is it real?"

"What?"

"This renewed sense of brotherhood. Can I trust him?"
"I don't see a reason not too." I said placing the last fork on the table when I answered his question.

He moved closer and I turned to see him. "Can I trust him?" He asks again, searching my eyes for an honest answer.

"I'm wearing Vervain, Damon."

"I'm not compelling you." He's surprised that I would even suggest it.

"Yes. You can trust him, I do." I walk around him to pull the hot bread out of the oven, but in my attempt to just grab it like the idiot I am, I slightly burned my hand. Damon was at my side right when it happened, grabbing the hot bread before it hit the ground and placing it on the stove top, then led me to the sink turning the cold water on so my hands wouldn't burn as bad.

"There was a time when I trusted him more than anyone."

I look up at Damon. "Trust breeds trust. You have to give it to get it."

"Are you lecturing me?" He asks, amused.

"Do you need to be lectured?" I ask with the same amusement in my voice.

"I just want her back. I'm sure you can understand that."

"I can understand that you would to do anything for her, yes." I wrap my arms around his waist and hold him. He shocked and doesn't move to hold me, but I'm okay with that. He needs comfort.

"Then you understand what I'll do if anyone tries to get in my way." He raises an eye brow and I look at him like he's stupid. Of course I know.

Later that night, Jenna and I are putting dinner away while Damon and Jeremy play video games.

"You said you never played this game before."

"I'm a fast learner."

"He's ridiculously hot, Alexandra. Why are you not with him?" Jenna tells me.

"Shh! He's a complete ass." I smile and Jenna grins. "Besides he's got issues with relationships." I look back to Jeremy and Damon. He's probably irritated about my comment. Oh well, too bad. Jeremy's phone starts ringing as the boys start another round. Jeremy silences his phone and Damon's interest perks up, mine as well.

"Who are you dodging?"

"This girl, Anna. She can be, well persistant," Jer chooses his words carefully, knowing there are two women in the room.

"Is she hot?"
"Yeah, but she can be, well, weird."

"Hot trumps weird, trust me." Damon says as the doorbell rings. Elena rushes down the stairs telling us all it's Stefan. We all walk to the door seeing Stefan on the other side. Elena and I walk outside with Damon and we start talking about the Gilbert journal. "Who took it?"

"I don't know."

"It's that teacher. There's something off about him," Damon says, determined it was him.

"Someone got to it before me." Stefan glances through the window before Damon can get another word out. Elena's phone rings and we all go inside.

"Let's talk to baby Gilbert."

"No Damon, leave him out of this." Damon ignored me and walked to the other side of the room to the couch. He leans on the arm rest and starts talking to Jeremy.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with that thing?"

"Who else did you tell?" I ask when I walk up.

"Just that girl Anna."

"The hot weird one?" Damon asks. Jeremy nods. "How do you know her?"

"I just know her. She wants me to met her at The Grill tonight," Jeremy spills. He does not want to go, that's for sure.

"Perfect, I'll drive. You're coming too," Damon says turning to me.

When we get there, Jeremy stands by the pool table and Damon and I sat at a booth, watching them. Damon knew exactly who it is. When Anna's back is turned to us, Damon grabs my arm and we leave.

"Where are we going?" I whisper.

"To her motel. I know exactly where she's staying." And when we get there. I'm in the car, a block away, staying 'safe.' I wait for the longest ten minutes of my life. It takes forever for Damon to get back and when he does, he's very pleased with the information he gets. "Off to the cemetery." I smirk and we drive off.

"Are you happy you're getting Charlotte back soon?"

It takes him a while to answer. He doesn't answer till we get to the cemetery. "I am." He looks at me and I can see the love in his eyes. The love he holds for this woman. I smile softly and get out, wishing that he would look at me like that. We walk together, not talking, just in a peaceful silence. Till we see a light where his father was buried. I gasp. "Well, what do you know? This is an interesting turn of events." He pulls me in front of him and holds me to his brilliant body that is full of anger at the moment.

"I can't let you bring her back, I'm sorry," Stefan says as he comes into the light with Elena.

"So am I. For thinking for even a second that I could trust you."

"You're not capable of trust Damon. The fact that you're here means you read the journal and you were planning on coming here with Alexandra to do it anyway!"

"Of course I was!" Damon was pissed. "Because the only one I can count on is me!" He yells in my ear. "You made sure of that many years ago Stefan." He looks down at me. "Did you know?"

I shake my head. "No I didn't. I'm just as surprised at you."

"You're lying to me."

"Damon, I really did not know! I was just as clueless as you were! You've got to believe me."

"So what are we going to do now, Stefan? Because if you try and destroy it, I'll rip her heart out." My heart beats faster in fear. He wouldn't, would he?

"You wont do it."

"No, but I can do one better." He tears his wrist open with his teeth and pushes the blood into my mouth. "Give me the book or I'll snap her neck. Your choice, Stefan."

"Let her go first," Elena tries to reason with him. It won't work.

"Drop it."

"I'm not going to give it to you until Alexandra is standing next to me and Elena."

"The problem is, I no longer trust that you'll give it back."

"You just did the one thing that ensures that I will," Stefan pleades. Stefan drops the book at our feet and Damon slowly released me from his grip. He kisses the back of my head in sorrow for what he did and I run to Elena and Stefan when his arms are by his sides. Elena and Stefan turn and lead me away. I look back and Damon still hasn't grabbed the book. He just looks defeated.

"I need an asprin." I say, getting up. Stefan gets up and tells me to sit back down. We are in Elena's room and there are dried tears on my face. I stopped crying in the car out of fear because I know Damon just wants her back. But soon, I can't see anymore. Then I can't hear, finally I'm not consious any longer.